


Goldilocks and the Three Vampires

by marysiak



Category: Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1995-09-10
Updated: 1995-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 05:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8001049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marysiak/pseuds/marysiak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this in 1995 back when Anne Rice fanfics were referred to as Specs (short for speculative). Not much plot to it, Mary-Sue as all of my early stuff was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

**GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE VAMPIRES**  
 **by Lady Amethyst, 1995**   
   
My first Vampire Spec, I'm so proud. Please pardon any crass mistakes in    
my French, I only did up to standard grade and I was always crap at    
writing in it. I dedicate this to my French/English dictionary. This is    
un petit explicit in places. This is *thinking to yourself* and this is    
[mental speech to someone else]. I reached 600 lines and suddenly realised    
I had no plot, if I'm not careful I may have to resort to Louis leaving or   
being kidnapped just for a change. :-) Possibly spoilers for first four   
Vampire books but certainly nothing serious.    
   
All characters except Oriana belong to Anne Rice. This is a non-profit,   
freely distributed piece or whatever you're supposed to say.   
   
          *         *         *   
   
   It wasn't until she woke up as the plane was landing that she realised   
how monumentally stupid what she had just done was.   
   
   "I prefer to fall apart abroad," she mocked herself.    
   
   God but she could be so melodramatic at times. She had outdone herself    
this time. She had definitely read one too many Vampire Specs. This time    
when she had decided to run away and die on an unknown street she'd    
chosen New Orleans. Of course all the other times she'd decided to do    
that, usually to Greece, she'd never gotten further than wandering the    
dark streets of Glasgow looking for a taxi to the airport. This time    
she'd foolishly gone the whole hog and was now in America with nothing    
but a passport and the clothes on her back. What on Earth had possessed    
her? She'd just about emptied her account to buy the ticket and she had    
no way of getting back. She couldn't even really remember what had got   
her so depressed, probably nothing, as usual.    
   
   The plane landed heavily. It was late afternoon. The atmosphere was    
warm and wet, the sky clouded. She wandered unseeing through the airport    
and on to the city. It was almost as if her life were over already, she    
would starve to death on the streets on New Orleans.   
   
                   ------------------------------   
   Lestat stood watching the last light of the day drop away at the    
horizon. He was waiting for Louis to wake up, there had been a bit of a   
fight last night and he wanted them to make up. He heard a sound behind    
him and spun around, but it was only David.   
   
   "Is Louis up yet?" he asked.   
   
   "Good evening to you too Lestat," David replied. "I hope you are    
intending to apologize to him for last night."   
   
   "Apologize! Why on earth should I want to do that? I am waiting here,   
despite my hunger, for Louis to come apologize to me for being a whining,   
annoying bore who always spoils my fun."   
   
   "Well in that case," said Louis from the doorway. "You can wait there   
until you starve for I most certainly have no intentions of apologising   
to you for _not_ being a hot-headed, impulsive fool who delights in   
endangering himself and those around him!" With that Louis stormed out   
the front door, David following.   
   
   Lestat stood for a moment watching Louis vanish angrily down the    
street with David in his wake before he swore loudly and raced after   
them calling out, "Louis! Louis wait for me!" In his rush he carelessly   
left the front door open behind him. It swung closed slowly and stopped   
before the latch caught.   
   
            ----------------------------------------   
   At first she had resigned herself to her fate, she'd gone to all the   
bother of getting here, she may as well do what she came for. Die. She    
had walked for what seemed like an eternity, having no real reason to    
stop, when she finally looked around her. It was now very early morning,    
the sun would be rising in about four hours she guessed. The streets were    
narrow and dark, the few streetlights unable to light them. She suddenly    
felt very vulnerable and very sure that she didn't really want to die now.    
Depressive melodramatics were all very well in your safe bedroom at home    
but they fled in these dim, damp streets leaving only every humans    
desperate desire to live. She had a sudden premonition that she as going    
to have to fight for that desire very soon, but you didn't need to be    
psychic to know that when you saw a pretty, defenceless girl wandering    
alone in the dark.   
   
   The shadows moved.   
   
   They slithered and reformed themselves into legs and arms and hands   
and faces and leering grins.   
   
   They ringed her in a loose circle, looking nonchalant. 'We do this    
every day.' They said. 'Nobody cares what we do.' They said. 'And nobody   
cares what we do to you.'   
   
   She stood her ground, quivering slightly, as one came toward her.    
Behind him he left a larger space in the ring. He grinned meaninglessly   
at her as he cupped her chin in his hand, "You lost, pretty young t'ing?"   
   
   The others laughed, behind him the space widened again as one of them    
moved closer to another to whisper something. She said nothing. He ran    
his hand down her neck, over her breasts and stomach, between her legs.   
"Mebbe you found what you lookin' for." He took another step toward her   
and he was close enough.   
   
   With all her strength she drove her knee between his legs and then ran    
for her life through the space. With angry cries they gave chase. She was   
not especially fit but she had something over them, that thing beyond   
adrenaline, that endurance you only get when your life depends on it.   
She managed to stay ahead of them, but only just, never far enough ahead   
to make them give in. Occasionally she fell, skinning knees and elbows,   
but she always scrambled up in time. Once they thought they had her in a   
dead end but she vaulted the fence and ran and ran and ran, but they    
never gave up.    
   
   Finally, when she knew it would not be long before she slowed enough   
to be caught, she decided to risk it. She veered towards the nearest   
door and threw herself at it. Hoping someone would be home, hoping that   
someone would care enough to help her, hoping they would open the door in   
time. To her surprise the door flew open the moment she hit it and she    
stumbled inside, banging it shut in their faces and throwing every bolt    
she could find. They slammed against it but there was no way in.   
   
   She fell useless to the polished floor gasping for breath, her chest   
and throat a mass of pain. Her entire body shook with shock at the sudden   
and unexpected energy drain. She lay there for a half hour before    
dragging herself to a bathroom and into the shower to wash away the blood   
and the sweat and the pain and the fear. She wrapped herself in a large   
fluffy towel and sat on the bathroom floor. The house was empty, for now.   
But when its occupants came back they would not be pleased to see an   
intruder. But she couldn't leave, she couldn't go back out there, not yet.   
She had to hide. She pulled herself to her feet and went upstairs, heading    
for the attic. She was so tired she couldn't think, if she had she would    
have realised that bolting a door from the inside made it fairly obvious    
she was there and leaving her dirty, torn clothes on the bathroom floor    
didn't help either. There was an attic. Inside was a coffin. Black and    
gleaming, inside it was lined with purple silk. She felt it was the most   
beautiful thing she had ever seen. Who would think to look in an attic,    
in a coffin? If she had looked more carefully it might have worried her    
how clean and tidy the attic was, how prominantly the coffin was    
displayed, but she didn't. Instead she roughly toweled the rest of the    
water out her hair and climbed into the purple silk, dropping the towel    
on the floor behind her. It felt cool and soft against her bare skin as    
she pulled the lid on, leaving it slightly open to let air in. In seconds    
she was in a sleep so close to death you might have thought she was.   
   
            ----------------------------------------------   
   Louis and Lestat had made up. *One day,* David thought. *They will go   
a whole night without arguing. But not this century.*   
   
   Louis picked up on the thought and smiled, it was probably true. He    
looked round at Lestat, who's hand he held as they walked, and pulled him   
to a stop. When Lestat turned to ask him what was wrong he kissed him.   
   
   "What was that for?" Lestat asked, surprised at Louis' unusual action.   
   
   "I do love you."   
   
   Lestat actually blushed slightly, Louis was not usually so    
demonstrative. He pulled him into an embrace whispering in his ear,    
"Je suis amoureux de tu aussi, mon cher."   
   
   Louis smiled, Lestat almost always slipped into French when he was   
feeling romantic. Arms around each others waists they contined to the    
house where they found a rather worried David waiting at the door for    
them.   
   
   "Lestat, did you throw the inside bolts when you left the house?"   
   
   "No, of course not. I was in such a hurry I just left it on the latch."   
   
   "Well it's bolted now, _someone_ is in our house."   
   
   Lestat stepped forward and opened the bolts with his mind. Together   
they stepped cautiously inside, reaching out with their minds to find the   
intruder. Lestat frowned, "I can feel something, I think. It's so faint."   
   
   David strained but could sense nothing, Louis cocked his head to one   
side, "I'm sure I can hear a heart beat, but I can't tell where from."   
   
   They moved inside, switching lights on as they went. "Fee Fi Fo Fal, I    
smell the blood of a mortal," announced Lestat, enjoying the hunt and    
leading them to the bathroom. Inside they found a heap of dirty clothes,    
bloodstained at the knees, elbows and wrists, and puddles of water on the    
floor. "Who's been washing in our shower?" he asked dramatically,    
changing fairy tales as he lifted up the clothes revealing them to be    
those of a small female.   
   
   "Really Lestat, will you be serious for a change?" scolded David.   
   
   "I don't know," complained Lestat. "One minute you complain that I   
never read anything and then when I bring up literature you tell me to   
shut up. I just can't win."   
   
   Louis grinned as David rolled his eyes. They checked each floor room    
by room until there was nowhere left but the attic. Lestat went first.   
As he opened the attic door they could all hear the faint thud of a slow   
heartbeat and smell the sweet perfume of mortal blood. It came from   
Lestat's coffin, he turned to them.   
   
   "There is a _mortal_ sleeping in _my coffin_!" he exclaimed.   
   
   "It is rather odd," agreed David. Most mortals weren't comfortable   
with coffins, never mind willing to sleep in one.   
   
   Lestat quietly lifted the lid to reveal a naked young child-woman with    
damp, tangled, white gold hair. "It's Goldilocks!"   
   
   Her age was rather indeterminate. She was very slim, with shoulder   
length blond hair. Her skin was very pale and blue veins ran their   
hypnotic journeys' just beneath it. By her side lay a pair of glasses.    
She could have been anything between fourteen and twenty. Her elbows,    
knees and hands were still oozing a little blood.   
   
   Lestat reached out and stroked her cheek saying, "Time to wake up    
Cherie." At the same time he prodded her mind gently out of her deep    
sleep.    
   
   Her eyelids fluttered and she turned pale blue-grey eyes toward   
him as she awoke. Then she gasped in fright at being found, feeling for    
her glasses as she sat up. Once she got them on she froze in amazement as   
she found herself face to face with two of the most beautiful men she had   
ever seen. David was behind her and she hadn't noticed him. Lestat stood    
before her with Louis slightly behind him. She came slowly to her knees   
in the coffin reaching out a hand to touch Lestats cheek. He took her    
hand and ran his tongue over the cut that sliced up one side of her palm.   
In her mind he set off the memory of the events that had brought her here.   
Her sudden depression and need to get away, the flight to America, the   
regret at her impulsiveness, the attack. Glass cutting into her hand as   
she pushed herself off the ground to keep running, must keep running.    
   
   "There is no need to run now Cherie. We will not harm you." He handed   
her the towel she had left on the floor and she wrapped it around herself.   
"I am..."   
   
   Then she finally spoke, "Lestat." She looked over his shoulder, "and   
Louis." She glanced around and saw the third vampire, "and David. I'm   
Oriana." She glanced down at the blood-stained silk lining of the coffin,    
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."   
   
   "That is of no matter, you have not had the best of days I think," he   
said. He took her hand again and helped her step out of the coffin. "You    
must be dreadfully hungry. David go find some food while we make our    
guest more comfortable."   
   
   David frowned, both at Lestat's order and also at his sudden adoption    
of this mortal girl. Lestat already had a dog, he didn't need any more    
pets. She ought to be killed now that she knew them, though the thought   
did not lie comfortably with him. But he went out to get food anyway,    
they could talk about it later.   
   
          ---------------------------------------------   
   Lestat escorted Oriana down to the living room and started a fire   
which he sat her down in front of. He brought through a comb which he    
handed to a rather bemused Louis and sat down in front of their stray.   
He gestured impatiently to Louis, who was still standing in the middle   
of the room, to sit down and comb out her tangled hair. Louis did so,   
surprised that Lestat had recalled the time Louis confessed how much he   
loved to play with long hair. Comb it out and feel the soft strands    
between his fingers, the sweet smell of it. Meanwhile Lestat was cleaning   
the remaining blood from her cuts... with his tongue. She smiled    
languidly at him through half closed eyes. Once the blood was cleaned    
away Lestat bit his tongue and let his own blood trickle onto the wounds   
closing them up without a trace. Louis wondered what was going through   
Lestats' mind, why was he doing this? Was he planning on keeping the girl   
somehow or would he kill her? Perhaps he would simply send her home. Or   
perhaps he had something else on his mind... surely Lestat would not make    
another fledgling so soon after David? In fact Louis had rather hoped he   
would make no more fledglings at all. Well, he was sure Lestat would make   
everything clear eventually. Of course that was assuming Lestat knew what   
he was doing, which was probably not the case. He concentrated on his   
task, he had got rid of nearly all the tangles. Her hair was much finer   
than Lestats', straighter and paler as well. It smelled faintly of apples   
and was as soft as the finest silk. Finally freeing it of the last tangle   
he ran his hands through it, giving in to temptation and leaning his    
cheek in to rub against it. She lifted her arm over her shoulder to    
stroke his hair as he did. Lestat had moved around her so he could watch    
Louis, keeping one of her hands. He ran his tongue around her fingers,    
drawing them into his mouth one at a time. Louis was amused at his own    
reaction to her, it was usually his job to tell Lestat he should be more    
careful, less impulsive. But her mind was like a cross between an    
aphrodisiac and a sedative, she relaxed him and seduced him at the same    
time. It was a very pleasant sensation. She heard David returning and    
brought her hand back from Louis' hair to pull the towel back up from her    
waist where it had slipped. David came into the room frowning at the    
scene before him.   
   
   "Lestat I want a word with you."   
   
   Louis helped Oriana up and took her and the food David had brought    
through to the kitchen. He left her to sort out the food and went to    
fetch a shirt for her to put on. They could get some decent clothes for    
her tomorrow night, there was no time tonight. *Look at me!* he thought.    
*I'm as bad as Lestat, thinking as if she is going to stay with us.* But    
he had to admit he was already rather fond of her. So strong even after    
all she had been through that night. She wasn't at all afraid of them and    
she was so quiet, she had hardly spoken a word since she had woken. Her    
mind was so peaceful. Of course that could just be due to her exhaustion.    
He brought a heavy green checked shirt back to the kitchen for her.   
   
          ---------------------------------------------   
   "Just what do you think you are doing Lestat? And you have Louis   
caught up in it as well."   
   
   "Caught up in what? What are you babbling about?"   
   
   "That girl! She knows who we are! She knows where we live! She should   
be disposed of."   
   
   "Disposed of! You sound like you're talking about some animal. She is   
a human being, she will not be killed."   
   
   "Why not? We are vampires Lestat, it is what we do."   
   
   "It is what we do when we have to. To feed, to stay alive. I will not   
be pressured to kill when I do not want to."   
   
   "Then what will you do? We have to sleep soon, where will she go then?"   
   
   "She is tired too, she will sleep with me."   
   
   "Are you mad?" David looked astounded. "You would let a complete    
stranger, a mortal, sleep with you when you are at your most helpless?"   
   
   "Surely you have seen into her mind David. She is not going to hurt us    
or betray us to anyone. I like her and she is staying."   
   
   "You are mad! Louis. Louis!"   
   
   Louis poked his head round the door. "What?" he said looking worried.   
   
   "Lestat is going to let this unknown mortal girl sleep with him today!   
Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?"   
   
   "Will you sleep in the bed Lestat?" Louis asked.   
   
   "Yes, mortals aren't really suited to sleeping in coffins. She knows   
enough not to let any light in the room if she wakes up. She's read all   
the books you know, I saw it in her mind."   
   
   Louis looked rather embarrassed, "Lestat I... I don't suppose you   
would mind if I... um... joined you today?"   
   
   "Louis!" cried David, feeling beset upon by lunatics.   
   
   Louis looked puzzled, "I know it's not what we'd normally do but she's   
really no danger David. Can't you see that?"   
   
   "I know she wouldn't do anything on purpose but it is still too   
dangerous, accidents happen. What if she goes to make something to eat   
and a pan catches fire? What if she lets someone else in the house? What   
if she forgets where she is and opens one of the curtains? Maybe you could    
survive that Lestat, but Louis couldn't. Send her to a hotel if you must,    
but she can't stay here."   
   
   "It is too late to take her to hotel, the sun will be up soon, and she    
can't go herself. She will stay here and that is final David." Lestat left    
the room, signifying the conversation was at an end.    
   
   David turned to Louis, "I must say I'm surprised to see you taking    
Lestat's side."   
   
   Louis shrugged, "I'm tired of arguing with him, half the time I'm just   
playing Devil's Advocate anyway. What about you, are you really that   
bothered by this?"   
   
   David sighed, "I guess not. I just like to make sure Lestat has really   
thought things through. Of course even if he did agree with me he'd never   
admit that he might have been wrong in the first place."   
   
   Louis laughed, "You are right of course. Good night David."   
   
   "Good night Louis." David kissed Louis on the cheek and left for his   
room.   
   
           ---------------------------------------------   
   In the kitchen Oriana was just finishing a sandwich and a glass of   
orange juice. Lestat was hanging arund the doorway, his nose wrinkled at   
the smell of food. Louis joined him.   
   
   "David has gone to bed. I have to go soon too Lestat."   
   
   "She is just about finished, take her up to my room with you and I'll   
check all the locks before I join you."   
   
   Louis nodded and went into the kitchen, the smell was not too bad now   
she had finished. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.   
   
   "Tired," she answered.   
   
   "Well that's good, it's time for us to sleep. The sun will be rising   
soon. Lestat thought you could sleep with us, if you like that is. Or we   
could put you in my room if you want."   
   
   "No, I'd be happy to stay with you."   
   
   "Okay. Well, lets go up then. Lestat's just closing up the house." He   
led her upstairs to Lestats' overly-sumptuous room. "You will be careful    
won't you? If you wake up during the day I mean."   
   
   "Don't worry Louis, besides I'm so tired I doubt I'll wake up any time   
before Christmas." She sprawled heavily onto Lestats' large bed, her eyes   
closed. Louis smiled, he lit a lamp and drew the blinds and curtains    
after making sure the windows were locked. Oriana was watched him, her    
body having decided to fall asleep before her mind, as he undressed for    
bed leaving his clothes folded on a chair. Feeling a little awkward he    
went into the bathroom to remove his jeans and put on a soft pair of   
pyjama bottoms, then sat on the bed to wait for Lestat. He could hear    
Oriana thinking, *Do they both sleep here often? Or does Lestat sleep    
alone in his silk lined coffin?*   
   
   He answered her silent question, "We sometimes sleep together, if    
we've managed to get through the night without arguing."   
   
   [You really do argue that often?]   
   
   "I'm afraid so. But I'm going to try to stop. It is my new resolution,   
to put up with Lestat and not argue with him unless absolutely necessary."   
   
   She smiled, [Instead the two of you will argue with David.]   
   
   Louis laughed, "Perhaps."   
   
   Lestat swept into the room. "All is secured in our little castle, time   
for bed." He stripped completely, carelessly leaving his clothes strewn    
across the floor, modesty did not even cross his mind. "You will be    
dreadfully warm in that heavy shirt," he pointed out to Oriana.   
   
   [My body has gone to sleep,] she told him. Only her eyes still awake,   
taking in the sight of him. [I couldn't move if I wanted to.]   
   
   Lestat sat on the bed next to Louis, "And what about you mon Cher?"   
He pinged the waistband of Louis pyjama bottoms, "It's such a warm night."   
   
   "Lestat!" Louis turned bright red. He was beginning to regret this. He   
had though they would all just go to sleep, obviously Lestat had every   
intention of completely embarrassing him first. But Lestat's attention   
went back to Oriana as he unbuttoned the shirt she wore and pulled it off   
her, throwing it onto the floor with his clothes. Louis got up and moved   
round the other side of the bed to climb between the cool sheets, Lestat   
lifted Oriana off the bed and Louis pulled the covers aside so he could   
lay her down and climb in beside her. As Louis dropped into his death    
sleep she rolled over and snuggled against him. Lestat switched off the    
lamp and spooned in behind her, his arm resting on Louis' chest as he felt    
her too slip into her own, mortal, sleep. He lay there a while listening    
to their breathing before the rising sun banished him to sleep as well.    
   
         --------------------------------------------------   
   Oriana did indeed sleep the whole day. Lestat woke before her and snuck   
out to shower before Louis woke up. By the time he stirred Lestat was back   
sitting on the edge of the bed by his side, he was still naked. Oriana had    
rolled back to take the space Lestat had vacated. As Louis green eyes    
flickered open he kissed him lightly, "Bonsoir mon beau Louis. Comment    
tu fait dormi?"   
   
   "Tres bien mon coeur." He made to sit up but Lestat stopped him.    
   
   "Pas encore Louis, laisse-nous reveille trop tard ce soir."   
   
   "Mais..." Louis gestured to Oriana who was starting to wake up.   
   
   Lestat silenced him with another kiss, this time pressing his body    
against Louis' and slipping his tongue into his mouth. Louis struggled to   
push him off a moment but soon gave in to the heat that rushed through    
his body. When they broke apart Oriana was lying on her side watching    
them. Desire was evident in her eyes.   
   
   "S'il te plait," she said softly, "Reprendre. Cela ne me derange pas."    
   
   Louis chose the moment to try and escape again and nearly made it. But   
Lestat snagged him and rolled him back onto the bed, Oriana squealed as    
he landed half on her and struggled out from under him laughing. Lestat   
pinned Louis to the bed, "Where are you going mon cher, do you no longer   
want me? Do you no longer love me?" Lestat made a hurt face.   
   
   "Of course I still love you Lestat. It's just... oh forget it! I am    
just being my usual "pruddish" self, as you would say. So if you want    
display yourself in public who am I to argue?"   
   
   "Merveilleux!" Lestat tugged the sheets out from between them so he   
could feel his skin against him as he once more delved into Louis' mouth.   
He felt Oriana moving closer and soon her hand was pushing his hair aside   
so she could see their faces more clearly. She leaned in and brushed her   
lips across both of their cheeks before she climbed out the bed and went   
into the bathroom. Lestat was surprised to see her leave but was too busy   
with Louis to do anything about it. Louis was relieved, he never could   
say no to Lestat at times like this but he had been embarrassed at her    
presence beside them.   
   
       --------------------------------------------------------   
   She left the two of them together. Lestat might not care who saw them   
but she knew Louis wasn't comfortable with it. When she lay there,   
watching the two of them together. They were so beautiful. But she felt   
lost watching them, what was she doing here? Why did they let her stay   
here with them? Was he going to kill her? Then why hadn't he done it last    
night? Perhaps he was saving her for tonight. She wasn't scared, or angry   
or anything like that. She just wanted to know where she stood. She left   
the bathroom and tip-toed through the bedroom picking up the t-shirt   
Lestat had left on the floor the previous morning to wear. Outside the   
rain was pouring done like a tropical storm in intensity. She went to a   
window to watch it fall, no, not fall. What it was doing was filled with   
too much energy and purpose to be described as falling. The window led   
out to a balcony and she unlocked it and stepped outside into the torrent.   
Wearing only Lestats' t-shirt she was drenched in seconds but it was    
still incredibly warm, she leant back against the wall and let the rain    
wash everything away. As it ran from her hair and down her chin, soaking    
the t-shirt and trickling between her breasts she relaxed. The booming    
thunder filled her mind and she was a part of the storm. Suddenly her    
eyes flew open as energy filled the air and lightning struck the street-   
light that stood before the balcony. The thunder roared so loud that if    
she hadn't been leaning against the wall she would have fallen. Beside    
her the window opened and David stuck his head out to stare at the ruined    
streetlight. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her, he grabbed her arm    
and pulled her inside again.   
   
   "What were you doing out there in the rain?" he demanded.   
   
   "I... don't know, I was just standing outside. Did you see that!?"   
   
   "No, but I certainly heard it." He looked her up and down. Lestats'   
white t-shirt just reached her thighs and was soaked to transparancy,    
clinging to her erect nipples and her stomach. She dripped a puddle onto   
the carpet before him, he sighed. Louis and Lestat came tumbling into the   
room looking warm and tousled.   
   
   "Did you see the streetlight outside?" Lestat asked excitedly. Then he   
noticed Oriana. "What happened to you?"   
   
   "She was out on the balcony in the rain," David answered for her. "And    
now she is inside destroying our carpet."   
   
   Meanwhile Louis had found some towels and brought them through. He    
went over to her and stripped off the sodden t-shirt which he threw at    
Lestat, "For God's sake Lestat, stop looking at her body and do something    
useful for a change."   
   
   "What should I do?" he asked.   
   
   "Go make some tea." Lestat left holding the dripping t-shirt at arms   
length and Louis wrapped Oriana in a towel. "What were you doing out   
there?"   
   
   "I..." her eyes brimmed, though it was hard to tell with all the water   
dripping down her face. "I don't know." She started to cry.   
   
   "What is it? What's wrong?" He pulled her into his arms.   
   
   "I don't know." Her legs went and he knelt on the floor with her. She   
buried her head in his lap and wept, soaking his jeans with her hair. He   
looked up at David helplessly.   
   
   [What's wrong with her?]   
   
   David came over from drying up the water and knelt beside them laying   
a hand on her head. [It's a reaction to yesterdays' events. She was too   
tired and in shock yesterday to let it out. She'll be alright, once she's   
finished we should probably get her to talk about it.]   
   
   When Lestat came back through he sat a mug of tea on the table and    
sat down silently beside them. Eventually her sobs quieted and she raised   
her head from Louis' now sodden jeans.    
   
   "Are you hungry now?" she asked him.   
   
   "Well, yes," he answered. "But..."   
   
   In a swift movement she pressed her neck to his mouth, "Then drink."   
   
   Beneath his lips he could feel her pulse and he nearly bit down auto-   
matically, he was very hungry, but he pushed her away, "No!"   
   
   She fell back to the floor tears springing again to her eyes, "Why    
not? What else am I here for?" She turned to Lestat, "Don't you want me?"   
   
   He folded her in his arms. "Of course we want you cherie. But we did   
not keep you here to feed on. And don't ask me why we did, because it was   
my idea and I never have a reason for anything. I did it because I wanted   
to do it."   
   
   "Mark the calendar Louis," said David. "Lestat just admitted to never   
thinking things through." Louis laughed and Lestat stuck his tongue out    
at David over Oriana's shoulder.   
   
   Lestat took hold of her shoulders and sat her back. "Now I am going to   
go through my wardrobe and see if there is anything that will even vaguely   
fit you while Louis takes you through and makes you a bit more presentable.   
Then we shall all go shopping!" He disappeared through to the bedroom.   
   
   Louis sighed at the thought of yet another of Lestats' shopping sprees   
and took Oriana through to the bathroom. He turned on the water and    
stripped off his wet jeans to climb in the shower with her. She allowed   
him to shampoo her hair along with his own. The hot water cleared her   
thoughts and soon her hands were exploring Louis' smooth body as she    
soaped his back for him. She pressed her body against his, circling her   
arms around his waist as she leant her cheek on his shoulder.   
   
   "David said it might help you to talk about what happened," Louis said   
feeling rather akward. She had seemed so helpless earlier that he hadn't   
really considered the implications of showering with her.   
   
   [Perhaps,] she thought to him. She seemed fond of being able to speak   
mentally. [But not just now, we should get dried so we can go out. You   
still have to feed and I'm starving too.]   
   
   *Don't remind me,* he thought. The smell of her blood was driving him    
nuts. He turned off the water and they stepped out the shower, wrapping   
themselves in thick towels. He took her through to his bedroom and    
produced a hairdryer for her, there was a muffled noise from the walk in   
closet. He threw the door open revealing Lestat pawing through Louis'    
clothes. "What are you doing?"   
   
   Lestat looked up, "None of my trousers will fit over her hips, they're    
all too tight. You have some baggy jeans in here, I know you do. I've    
seen you wear them."   
   
   Louis counted to ten mentally, "Lestat get out of my closet, I'll find   
a pair." Lestat made way for him and went over to dry Oriana's hair for    
her. Louis found a pair of trousers for her and clothes for himself   
ignoring the clothes Lestat had dropped to the floor, he'd clear them up   
later. He vanished into the bathroom to get dressed, their 'encounter' in   
the shower had been more than enough for one day. When he emerged she too   
was ready to go out. She was quite an amusing sight in one of Lestats'   
t-shirts, Louis trousers rolled up at the bottom and a pair of braces to   
hold them up. She wore her own scuffed shoes, as no-one else's would fit    
her, but a pair of Louis socks. He tried not to laugh, Lestat already   
looked about ready to explode.   
   
   [Not funny!] she thought at them. [Let's just go and get me something   
to wear before anyone else sees me, please.]   
        
   David was waiting downstairs for them, he turned his face away as he    
saw her but not fast enough to hide the snort of laughter. She swept past   
him imperially.   
   
        -------------------------------------------------------   
   The first order of the day was feeding. Louis and David went together   
and Lestat had planned to wait until they returned to watch Oriana while    
he went but she had other ideas.   
   
   "Lestat. May I... watch you feed?"   
   
   He looked at her, startled. "What?"   
   
   "I would like to, if you don't mind."   
   
   He searched her mind and she seemed sincere, "Well... alright. I don't   
see why not. Although I'm sure if David were here he'd tell me why not."   
She smiled. "Come on then." He led her into a darkened alley where he   
could here the thoughts of someone suitable. "Walk ahead of me," he    
whispered and melted into the shadows behind her.    
   
   She walked ahead into the darkness rather fearfully, he was so silent    
it was as if he wasn't there. Then a figure appeared before her, from the   
shadows.   
   
   "I know you," it said with a menacing grin. "Mebbe you get away last   
night but you won't dis time little girl. Don' your parents ever tell   
you lil children shoun't go out in de dark?"   
   
   "I'm not a child," she retorted. "I'm eighteen."   
   
   "Don' matter none to me what age you be little girl." A knife glinted   
in the darkness. "I be goin' t'enjoy this." He stepped forward and she   
was on the verge of running when a streak of light flew from the darkness   
and smashed him against the wall knocking away the knife.    
   
   Lestat held him by the throat. "Not half as much as I will," he said.   
"How does it feel to be on the other side for a change?" He bared his   
fangs with a snarl letting the man see them before he plunged them into   
his neck and drained him. As the heart slowed he pulled back, still    
holding the body against the wall.   
   
   Oriana was standing next to him. "I had forgotten how hungry I was,"   
she said. Her eyes were fixed to the neck of the man he had slain, blood   
still flowed from the wound. She leant in front of Lestat and touched it   
with her fingers bringing them back to her mouth to taste. It was good.   
Still warm. She came closer and fastened her mouth to it, unable to sense    
anything telepathically the man being dead did not affect her in the way    
it would a vampire. She drank until the flow became too slow and then let    
go. Lestat allowed the body to fall to the ground and turned her to face    
him. Blood stained her lips and dripped down her chin as he stared at    
this mortal child-woman who drank blood as if already born to darkness.   
Unsure what to say he knelt and dripped a few drops of his own blood on   
the wounds the body bore to close them. When he stood up she had wiped   
the blood from her face and was looking at him with worried eyes. "Are   
you angry with me?" she asked.   
   
   *Gods but she was hypnotic!* "Of course I'm not Cherie." He took her    
face meaning to give her but a light kiss to set her at ease but as soon   
as his lips touched hers he could not hold back. He crushed her to him   
as he opened her mouth with his tongue. She did not resist but responded   
as passionately as he. She impaled her tongue on one sharp fang and her   
blood filled his mouth. It was not as rich as some but it was subtle,   
like an expensive perfume or a fine wine. She made him feel dizzy as a   
mortal in her slim arms. He had the feeling that too much of her, like    
too much wine, could be fatal. In her mind a song played,   
   
   "Split me open,    
    With devotion.   
    Put your hands in,   
    And rip my heart out."   
    Put your hands in and pull a plum out   
   
Before he released her he cut his own tongue to let her taste his power-   
ful blood and heal the wound in her tongue. She almost frightened him. He   
felt she was, in a way, even stronger than he was. A song came to his   
mind, how did it go?   
   
   "Here you got me crawlin', crawlin' on the floor.   
    An' my knees are aching and my hands are raw.   
    An' I've never known a girl like you before."   
   
   Yes that was it, he'd certainly never known a girl like her before and   
he'd been around for quite a while. He was certainly not going to give her   
the blood, she was strong enough already. As a vampire she would be    
terrifying.    
   
   "Come on," he said. "We better go meet Louis and David." He hurried her   
on into the night.   
   
   
(c) copyright Marysia, 1995


	2. Snow White and Rose Red

**SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED**  
 **by Lady Amethyst, 1995**   
   
This is the follow up to "Goldilocks and the Three Vampires", previously   
entitled "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" but the story metamorphosed   
into something else. Note 'Iana is pronounced Yana. I finally decided    
what was going to happen about half way through this. Main characters are    
Louis, Lestat and Armand and it comes between The Tale of the Body Thief    
and Memnoch the Devil.   
   
        *        *        *   
   
Lestat's Journal...   
   
   15th July   
   
             It has been a week or so since I have written anything so I   
   suppose I ought to do a quick recap of events so you don't get    
   confused my hypothetical reader. Shortly after I last wrote we found   
   a mortal intruder in our house. An eighteen year old girl called   
   Oriana, sleeping in my coffin no less. I took a shine to her almost   
   instantly and I think Louis did as well. David was not so easily   
   swayed but he has more or less come around, to her staying with us    
   that is. Not that he matters much at the moment as he left for England   
   two days ago, on business. Much as I adore Oriana I must admit that    
   she frightens me a little. A hard and strange admission for the all-   
   powerful vampire Lestat. She seems to have such power over me and over   
   Louis too, though Lord knows he would never admit it. He refuses to be   
   at all intimate with her since the first night. I think he is embarrassed   
   at his desire for a human that he half thinks of as a child, as   
   she does look very young. That and he always has been such a prude. At   
   least we don't argue as much as we used to, he seems to be making a   
   concerted effort not to disagree with me. It is rather sweet. Oriana   
   waits until he is already in his death sleep and then comes through to   
   sleep with us. She loves to curl naked around him just so she can see   
   his face when he wakes up. At first he got angry but now he simply   
   tolerates her. I have no such problems with my sexuality, Oriana and I   
   make love often. Her blood is like none I have ever tasted and leaves   
   me dizzy as if slightly drunk. I have resolved to never give her more   
   than a taste of my blood, I have no wish to make her one of us.   
   Although a normal mortal could be forgiven for already thinking her   
   one of us. Her skin is as pale and she sleeps through the day with us   
   mostly. Also she drinks blood! She hunts with me often and drinks the   
   remains from the bodies I have fed on. I have not told Louis or David   
   this, it is our secret, they would NOT approve. I'm not sure I approve,   
   it is rather eerie to see. She does however eat normal food as well   
   and I have been learning to cook for her. Things have gone fairly well   
   so far but I worry that it will break down. Louis has been so agreeable   
   lately, it can't last.   
           ------------------------------------------------    
   
Louis' journal...   
   
   15th July   
   
             I am... not angry. Annoyed, yes. Tired, perhaps. My decision   
   not to argue as much with Lestat is wearing very thin. He seems to use   
   it to control me and I feel I am losing my individuality. He is so   
   over-powering, perhaps it is necessary for us to fight to maintain our   
   distance from one another. Whatever is true I can no longer sustain   
   this facade of agreement. Which leads me to another facade which is    
   wearing thin. Oriana. She is infuriating, manipulative and has no   
   respect for privacy. Lestat seems to have given her free reign and I   
   am tired of the liberties she continually takes. This morning she was   
   not only lying naked beside me when I awoke but had removed my pyjamas,   
   that I am forced to wear because of her presence, as I slept. I have   
   put up with her behaviours this long because Lestat is so fond of her   
   and also because she can be surprisingly agreeable at times. She can   
   be kind, gentle, understanding and thoughtful and when she is we are    
   the best of friends. But Lestat's influence on her makes these times    
   fewer and fewer. It is a great pity.   
           -------------------------------------------------    
   
   Oriana slept restlessly that day. Louis and Lestat had fought before   
sun-rise and Louis had gone to sleep in his own room casting her a cold   
glance as he went to bed. Feeling rather insecure she had worn her silk   
pyjamas to sleep in, they made her feel... better. She was beginning to    
regret her actions with Louis, it was so easy to tease him and disregard   
his wishes when Lestat was around. But when Lestat was out or asleep she    
always regretted it. Louis was so sweet and so vulnerable to emotional   
torment, but last night he had snapped. Eventually she got up and wandered   
through the house finally stopping at Louis door. She tiptoed inside and   
sat on the edge of his bed. The room was pitch black and she reached out    
a hand to find him, laying it on his cool cheek.   
   
   "I'm sorry Louis," she whispered.   
   
   Perhaps it was time to leave, Lestat would surely give her the money   
to return home. But the thought of returning to that empty life, to that   
empty desire, repulsed her although she missed her half brothers    
desperately. She had thought several times of phoning her fathers house    
to say she was alright but knew it would cause more problems than it    
would solve. A clean break was the only way to do it. And if she didn't    
stay here where would she go? But how could she stay here becoming the    
stranger she was when she was with Lestat? When she was with him she was    
strong and dangerous despite her mortal body but she was also cold and    
empty, everything became so physical with no emotion. Alive on the out-   
side but dead inside and she had no idea why. She went outside and sat on    
the steps watching the sun drift towards the horizon. It warmed her heart,   
she had seen too little of the sun lately. Perhaps that was the problem,   
she spent too much time in darkness playing vampire with Lestat. She was    
only human, her eyes couldn't see the colours of the night, her body    
couldn't taste the true pleasure of the blood. She was no vampire. Trying    
to be one was what was eating away at her soul and leaving her empty    
inside. It was time to enjoy being human again, and with the help of    
Lestat's money that should be easier than back in Scotland.   
   
   Feeling somewhat more light hearted she skipped back into the house   
and on to the kitchen. It was time to make pancakes! Later sitting at the   
kitchen table stuffing her face she heard Lestat leave to hunt, not long   
after Louis passed the kitchen door on his way to the living room. She   
quickly washed her sticky hands and face and went through after him. He    
was relaxing in a chair reading a book, he didn't look up as she came in.   
She perched on the sofa.   
   
   "Louis?"   
   
   He didn't answer.   
   
   "Louis I'm sorry, it won't happen again. I promise."   
   
   He looked up at her.   
   
   "Please Louis."   
   
   He put his book aside. "You will not touch me when I am asleep and   
unable to respond?"   
   
   "No, never again. I promise Louis. I have been behaving so badly   
towards you, please say you forgive me."   
   
   He smiled his small smile and reached out his hand to her, "Of course   
I do 'Iana." He allowed her to hug him.   
   
   "I'm so glad Louis. Everything will be different from now on."   
   
   "It certainly will, for I am here to brighten your nights," said a   
voice from behind her. She spun around to see a boy standing in the door   
way. He had curly auburn hair and black eyes that stood out against his   
ivory skin. He wore a dark red suit that matched his hair. "It has been    
so long since I saw you all that I thought I must come and visit.    
Especially as I heard Lestat was spending all his time with a mortal he    
had taken in. But I see you are not so neglected Louis." He turned to    
Oriana, "I am most delighted to meet you child."   
   
   She allowed him to kiss her hand. "Likewise I am sure Armand. Lestat   
is not here at the moment and I believe Louis still needs to hunt, but    
perhaps I can keep you amused until they return." She looked at Louis.   
"You do still have to hunt don't you?"   
   
   "Well... yes I..." Louis stammered, unsure that leaving her with    
Armand was wise.   
   
   "Go ahead," Armand told him. "I won't harm her. Or perhaps you are    
worried that she might harm me?"   
   
   Louis laughed nervously, "No, of course not. I... shall not be long."   
He left quickly.   
   
   Oriana came towards him, "So you are the terrible vampire Armand. You   
don't look so frightening to me." They circled each other.   
   
   "And you are the mortal who has Lestat hypnotised, as rumours would    
have me believe. You don't look so hypnotic to me. Just a little child    
run away from home. What are you doing here?"   
   
   "Why don't you ask Lestat that? Not that he'd be able to give you an   
answer, he knows even less than everyone else when it comes to the reasons   
for his own actions." She smiled, "But I think that's quite enough    
posturing for today. I'm in no mood for this vampire version of small   
talk, do none of you get bored by it?"   
   
   Armand smiled too, "Daniel has no mind for it, it is not his 'style'.   
I think it comes from being a vampire too long, you become pretentiously   
mysterious without even trying. Myself, with this youthful face I need   
all the pretention I can muster. No one takes me seriously otherwise."   
   
   "Well I am just a little mortal and I promise to take anyone who can   
kill me with a flick of their wrist fairly seriously, well... most of the   
time, probably. In fact strike that all together, I promise to take none   
of you seriously no matter how old or young you look or in fact are and   
regardless of how easily you can kill me. So now, tell me why _you_ are    
here."   
   
   Armand shrugged, "Curiosity, boredom... loneliness. Daniel is off    
again and I am in no mood to stay at home. So I came to visit my dear    
friends Louis and Lestat." He sat down on the sofa. "So how shall you    
entertain me while we await them?" he asked with a seductive look.   
   
   Oriana smiled at him, "Much as the thought tempts me, I think not.   
Perhaps we could all four of us go out when they return."   
   
   "Very well, in that case I shall amuse myself by getting you ready. I   
think we shall go to the ballet, there is a new production on. A    
collection of Fairy Tales. In fact I have a wonderful idea. I am already    
all in red, we shall dress you in purest white. With your fair hair and   
complexion we shall be Snow White and Rose Red, I believe that is one of   
the tales they are interpreting. Come along." He whisked her off to the   
closet of new clothes Lestat had bought her and found a long white silk   
dress. Light as the breeze it clung to her small breasts and enfolded    
her legs in the crinkled skirt. He sat her down and insisted on doing her   
make-up. Pale pinks on lips and cheeks and even on the eyes with a touch    
of brown to shadow. He was just finishing up when Lestat and Louis    
returned together, by the sound of things they had made up again.   
   
   "Armand? 'Iana?" Louis called.   
   
   "Up here Louis," she answered. Armand took her hand and brought her to   
stand side by side with him facing the doorway.   
     
   "Well," drawled Lestat. "Did you enjoy playing make-up Armand?"   
   
   Oriana stepped forward before the two of them could start, "Hold it    
right there. You can argue later, just now we are all going out to the    
ballet. So go get ready."   
   
   Lestat looked about to disagree but Louis took his hand, "Please    
Lestat. Don't."   
   
   "Oh... alright then." The two of them went to change.   
   
   Armand laughed, "They really are so sweet aren't they?"   
   
   "Yes," she replied. "And if you make any trouble between them you'll    
regret it."   
   
   "Why my dear Snow White, is that a threat?"   
   
   She paused a moment then decided what the hell, "Yes, it is."   
   
   Armand laughed again and then pulled her into a kiss she was unable    
to break free from. When he finally released her she fell back against    
the wall, her hand fluttering to her throat as she tried to catch her    
breath. "Don't _ever_ do that again without my permission!" she spat at    
him when she was recovered. His response was a laugh. "Oh... bugger!"    
she swore knowing her protestations were rather pointless when he could    
read her mind and know how much he had affected her. He laughed louder    
and she kicked him in the shin and swept down the stairs.   
    
   They went dancing after the ballet. A sip of Lestat's blood reviving    
her flagging energy after being up much of that day. When they returned    
to the house everyone was in high spirits and there had been,    
surprisingly, no arguments between anyone. Louis and Lestat retired to    
Lestat's room immediately on returning to the house leaving Armand,    
looking rather left out, staring after them. Illyana sighed and led him    
through to David's room, planning to spend the day in Louis empty room,    
but Armand had other ideas. Tugging her off her feet as she made to    
leave and pinning her to the bed.   
   
   "Surely you're not going to leave me here all alone, that's hardly    
polite. I might get lonely."   
   
   "Armand..." but she stopped there. She didn't really have any good    
objections. She did find him attractive, she did want him. But she still    
felt wrong here. Not just here with Armand but here with all of them. It    
was something deep-seated that just wasn't right. But she could worry    
about that after Armand had fallen asleep, just now she would ignore it    
and take what he was so insistently offering. It was hard to ignore a    
vampire that was gradually stripping you of your clothes and occasionally    
pausing to taste blood here and there and, oh yes, over there.     
   
   Despite her intentions she fell asleep next to Armand when the sun    
rose, protected from its warm destroying light by heavy shutters and    
thick velvet curtains. Barely had she closed her eyes it seemed than she    
was transported to another place, so vivid she didn't for a moment think    
it a dream. Couldn't bear it to be a dream.   
   
    He was driving, she in the passenger seat. Outside was a glorious    
spring day in Scotland. Occasional golden daffodils sang out against the    
grassy banks along the motorway. The window was slightly open and his    
short dark blonde hair flickered in the wind. She stared at him, you    
couldn't describe him, not really. Sure you could say he had blue eyes,    
that he had the most adorable dimple on his left cheek when he turned    
to smile at her, that he was beautiful. But it was just words. The way    
he looked had so much more to do with feelings, her feelings, than with    
words. There was a song playing on the cassette player, what was it? It    
was important, what were the words?   
   
       "I look at you and see, my life that might have been.   
             You're face just ghostly in the smoke.   
            They're setting fire to the cornfields,   
                  As you're taking me home."   
   
   It wasn't till then she noticed he was smoking. The smoke whispered    
across his face before disappearing out the window. Curling blue around    
his features, obscuring them.   
   
                 "The smell of burning fields,   
                   Will now mean you until.   
                And this is where I want to be.   
                    This is what I need.   
            But I know that this will never be mine.   
   
                Ooh the thrill and the hurting.   
              I know that this will never be mine."   
   
   But that wasn't right! That hadn't been playing in the car that day.   
   
            "I want you as the dream, not the reality.   
             That closing goodbye kiss could fool me.   
               But looking back over my shoulder,    
                  That you're happy without me.   
   
                 But this is where I want to be.   
                      This is what I need.   
             But I know that this will never be mine.   
                 Ooh the thrill and the hurting.   
                      Will never be mine...."   
   
   "No!" He reached out to take her hand and she felt the cold of his    
wedding ring against her skin. So cold it burnt her skin. "No!!"    
   
   "I love my wife," he said.   
   
   "No! It's not fair!!"   
   
   They were in front of her house and the car door was open although    
she hadn't touched it. "I won't forget this," he said.   
   
   "No!!!"   
    
   Suddenly it was all gone. She was in pitch darkness. Complete    
blackness. Utter darkness. She broke down in tears.    
   
   Words intruded in her mind, _*'Iana! What is it? What is wrong?*_   
   
   At the same time two naked worried vampires burst into the room.    
Lestat leapt on Armand pinning him to the bed. "What have you _done_ to    
her?"   
   
   Armand struggled to free himself. "Nothing you fool! I have done    
nothing! She has had a dream, that is all. Now let _go_ of me!!"   
   
   Lestat reluctantly released Armand and turned to Louis who was trying    
to coax Oriana out from the ball she had made of the sheets. He finally    
managed to get a few thoughts out of her.   
   
   _*I don't know what to do! Why won't he let me be? Why can't I let him_  
 _go? I wish I'd never met him. I wish he didn't exist.*_  
   
   Lestat crouched down beside her. "Who 'Iana? Who has done this to    
you?" In reply he got an image of a man. Handsome certainly but no patch    
on himself, but then what mortal could be. "Don't worry. I'll fix    
things, you'll see. Everything will be alright ma cherie."   
   
   She sat up and looked at him confusedly a moment then suddenly    
realised what he meant. "No!" She grabbed him as if she could stop him    
flying away. "You mustn't hurt him! Promise me!!" She looked terrified.   
   
   "But you said it yourself dearest ... 'I wish he didn't exist'. A    
wish very easily granted."   
   
   "No! I meant that I wished that he had never existed for me to meet,    
not that he were dead. God, never that. Promise!"   
   
   "Alright, alright. I promise. I won't touch a hair on his head."   
   
   She narrowed her eyes at him, "And you won't talk to him either, you    
won't interfere in any way?"   
   
   Lestat scowled, "Why shouldn't I? Who are you to say who I can or    
can't talk to?"   
   
   She fixed him with a hard stare.   
   
   "Oh, alright!" he swept out the room in annoyance.   
   
   Oriana sat back down on the bed heavily. "I'm just going to go back    
to bed for a while." She told them pulling the sheets over her. Louis    
glanced at Armand, who picked up his clothes and left, and then climbed    
in next to Oriana wrapping his arms around her silently. For over an    
hour she lay silently in his embrace, occasionally tears trickled down    
far enough to touch his arm. Then she spoke softly, almost as if to    
herself, "Will you take me Louis, drink my life?"   
   
   He was silent for several moments, thinking who knows what, before he    
answered just as softly, "No."     
   
   They said nothing else and remained as they were until Lestat came in    
from feeding and took Louis place. Not long after that she fell asleep.   
    
   It was daytime when she woke again. Not that she would have known in    
the pitch darkness of the room. She was alone. She felt... utterly crap.    
Having slept just about twenty four hours on the trot her mind felt like    
it was stuffed with cotton wool and her limbs were made of lead. She    
dragged herself out of the bed and threw open the curtains. As light    
flooded the room her head swam and she nearly fell over, she clutched the    
window ledge until her vision cleared. She shook her head and went to    
the bathroom to stand under cool water until she was more sure she was    
really awake. Then she dressed and went out into the garden bare-footed.    
The warm breeze blew the last of the cobwebs out of her head and the sun    
shine was like a warm embrace. His warm embrace. She knew then what she    
had to do, where she wanted to be. Back home, only a few miles away from    
his house. Knowing that he was there, not too far away. Able to look out    
the train window and see his workplace, able to go to a rehearsal and    
know that there was always a chance that he might be there. Only a heart    
beat away from him instead of half a world. Where she had photos and    
videos of old shows he was in and that single letter. Where he was a    
part of her life however small. She needed to know he was near. She    
needed to go home. She couldn't finish that part of her life until she   
dealt with her feelings for him one way or another.   
   
   She spent the day deciding what to take back with her and packing it.    
Deciding whether to take the photos she had of herself with Lestat, Louis   
and David and the film from the night out at the ballet, still to be    
developed. She decided she would. Looking out the passport she'd had with    
her the day she appeared here. Working out what she would say to them    
when they woke up. Booking the flight home. Eventually she worked up the    
courage and phoned her father, she couldn't cope with her mother just yet.    
She had only been away a week and she had left a note to say she was    
going away for a while. They had no way of knowing she had been in    
America, she told her Dad she'd been in London staying with a friend    
she'd met on the 'Net.   
   
   She gathered them in the lounge when they woke and told them she was    
going back to Scotland. Her flight was just after midnight. Strangely    
enough it was Armand that seemed the most affected by her announcement.    
They all accompanied her to the airport. At the departure gate she felt    
tears sting her eyes.   
   
   "You will stay in touch?" Louis asked.   
   
   "Of course I will. I'll write you all, e-mail and snail mail."   
   
   "And if you need us you'll call," insisted Lestat.   
   
   "Yes." She hugged them both and then came to Armand. In his eyes was    
the glimmer of blood tears, he said nothing. "Armand? What's wrong?"   
   
   "It is nothing Cara. Take care of yourself." He smiled and kissed her    
lightly. In the bright artificial light of the airport he looked like    
the embodiment of death he was. People avoided them and stared at them    
at the same time. Lestat glared back.   
   
   Tears choked the back of her throat. "Goodbye." She fled to the    
plane. But even then through the small window she could see them    
watching, waiting for her to take off. They watched one another until    
she could no longer see the airport at all and then she closed her eyes    
and let herself doze until New Orleans seemed like a dream.   
   
The End ...   
   
 ... well it would be if I didn't have another part planned.  (which I never wrote obv)  
      
All vampire characters belong to Anne Rice or Random House or someone    
along those lines. Apologies to them for such blatant theft. The song   
featured is 'Never Be Mine' by Kate Bush.   
\--    
        Lady Amethyst          | "I look at you and see, my life that might   
 Keeper of the Labyrinth Flame | have been. You're face just ghostly in the   
Holy Virgin of the C. of Xbooks|  smoke. They're setting fire to the corn   
  The Apocalypse Approaches!   |    fields, as you're taking me home."   
   
   
 


End file.
